


Cup Chasers

by searchingforsuju



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-01-26 12:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1688213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/searchingforsuju/pseuds/searchingforsuju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle Williams had no intention of getting hit by a truck that day. She also had no intention of being saved by a gorgeous stranger named Nick Tarns. </p><p>Belle and Nick are one of those couples, cursed by life, death, and Magnus Bane. </p><p>Belle always figured she was normal, but when she's targeted by Jace as a potential Mortal Cup stealer, she comes to realize that not everything in her life is totally normal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Belle Williams sat patiently on the park bench. The air was cool and the sky seemed much different than the day before.

She checked her phone a couple times, tapping her fingers on the side as she scanned the still empty messages folder. It was about noon and her stomach was growling like crazy. She patted the loose ends of her hair down whenever the wind decided to pick up again.

She'd met this guy named Jake who worked down at her favorite coffee shop. He had one of those faces; the type of face that once you see, you begin to see everywhere. She couldn't stop herself from staring at him while he worked. She'd find herself spending hours at the shop, ordering too much coffee and spending too much money. After a couple months, he must've noticed her. She (somehow) mustered up the courage to go talk to him and they made plans to meet in the park to go to lunch.

After what seemed like 5 minutes, she checked her phone again. 12:30. 30 minutes gone already? Time was speeding like a race car. She looked around the park. A few kids playing with a toy, a couple goth-looking guys hanging out on another bench, some moms and their kids, dogs..A general park setting. She contemplated taking out her camera to take pictures, but she stopped herself.

She was a photographer for Brooklyn's local paper. She had her camera everywhere she went; it slowly became a body part, it seemed. She didn't really know what and what not to take pictures of, so she captured everything. It was more for herself than for the paper, but she would come across pictures from time to time to match stories.

She checked her phone again. 1:00 PM. She groaned and rolled her eyes. It'd been an hour. He'd most definitely stood her up. She shook her head, lowering it to hide her embarrassment. Imagine the people's faces when she gets up to leave after being here for an hour. She'd look like a grade-A idiot. 

One of the goth boys couldn't help but look at her. She was a pretty looking girl who was dressed all hipster-ish, complete with the huge framed glasses, army boots, and Nikon camera. He generally wasn't attracted to that sort, but he felt something different about her. He got a depressed-vibe from her. Maybe that's why he was so curious.

His name was Nickolas Tarns, but he preferred Nick. He was your average goth kid. He wore the black skinny jeans, black boots, gauges in both ears with eyebrow piercings to match. He also was no stranger to eyeliner, which he was constantly made fun of for in high school. It didn't bother him too much. He liked to tell himself that, one day, he'd shove that eyeliner stick right up their asses. Gave him hope. 

He watched her lower her head and check her phone again. She'd checked her phone repeatedly in the past hour and she didn't seem to move. She looked around, like she was waiting for someone. He squinted, strengthening his stare. By the way she was dressed, he would say she was waiting for a guy. He scoffed; typical. Probably her boyfriend or something.

“What do you think?” Nick's friend, Collins, asked, patting his friend on the shoulder. Nick didn't budge. He'd been zoned out of the conversation for a while. Collins followed his glare, noticed the girl, and shook his head. “Nick, come on man.” He snapped repeatedly, louder each time. “Snap out of it.”

Nick shook his head, knocking himself out of his trance. “What?” He asked Collins. “Don't snap in my face.”

“You were staring at Belle.” Nick's other friend, Ryan, butted in. “She's not that great. Don't get your hopes up.” Ryan picked at his cuticles, pulling up skin and ripping it off in quick motions. 

“Belle..” Nick mumbled under his breath. “She seems sad.” He stood off the bench, brushing dirt off the top of his skinny jeans. “Maybe I should go check if she's alright.”

“No, man, that's weir-” Before Collins could finish, Nick was already on his way over there. He shoved his hands into his back pockets. Yeah, that was cool. Well, he considered it cool. Whatever. He carefully meandered over, stopping directly in front of her, his body blocking the sun from her face. He lightly tapped her shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asked, extracting his hand after a quick few taps.

Belle looked up, the sun blinding her only for a second before her vision cleared. It was one of the goth boys from the other bench. He was so skinny. He could break apart with one punch to the gut. His gauges were huge, but pretty cool. She'd thought about getting those, but her mom stopped her. He had silver studs in the top of his eyebrows and a straight face, like he'd been dared to come over to her.

She just nodded, trying to ignore the fact that she was staring right up at him. “I'm fine, thanks.” She went back to her phone which rested on her lap. He'd leave soon.

“Are you sure?” He asked again. Belle looked back up at him and, this time, held eye contact. She hated eye contact, but maybe it'd mean he'd go away. “You seemed upset.” He took a seat next to her. “Waiting for someone?” 

She sighed and clicked her phone off. He seemed confident, so he wouldn't be the one to leave first. “Maybe,” she chuckled, running her fingers through her hair. “That obvious?” 

He parted his legs open, leaning forward and holding his hands in the middle. “No, not really. I just spend a lot of time in the park and I've seen girls like you.” She chuckled; 'girls like you'. “Not that it's a bad thing though. It just seems..”

“Like a waste of time?” She asked. He simply nodded his head; she took the words right out of his mouth. There was no sense in waiting a whole hour for a guy who was obviously not going to show up. She could be out doing something so much better with her time. Shopping...watching a movie...curing cancer....something along those lines. “I'm afraid you're right.”

“Of course I'm right,” he scoffed, sitting back against the bench. He gave her a tiny smirk before putting both hands behind his head. “The name's Nick and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” He didn't exactly know how to tell her that he knew her name, so he decided to pretend to not know instead. Makes it less awkward.

Belle shuttered. He seemed nice, but he showed his true intention. She frowned and flipped her hair over her face, covering one of her eyes. “Umm..” She thought a minute, scanning through all the imaginary lists of names in her head. Of course she wasn't going to give this creep her real name. Her eyes fell onto the cover of her Twilight book that rested atop her purse. “Bella. My name is Bella.”

Nick sighed. She sounded so confident that, if he didn't know who she was, he'd believe her. He must've scared her. That's wasn't his plan, he just wanted to meet the girl. “That's funny, because my friend over there said he knew you.” Belle's eyes moved to the bench and got a tiny wave from one of his friends, a guy she recognized from work. She groaned.

“Tell Ryan I said that story needs to be finished by midnight,” she uttered, leaning down to put her camera into her purse. “Now, if you excuse me, I have a cafe worker I need to scope out and possibly murder.” She flung the strap of her bag over her shoulder and gave Nick a straight glare. “Have a good day.”

Nick gave her a tip of the head and a smirk grin. “Nicke to meet you Belle or can I call you Belly?” Belle let out another groan and stomped away, leaving the air silent and calming to Nick. She seemed difficult and not really worth it. 

His two friends noticed he wasn't moving, so they quickly migrated to the other bench, sitting down on either side of him. “What did she say?” Collins asked, sounding generally curious.

“Just that Ryan's story is due by midnight.” He slid his sunglasses off his head and onto the bridge of his nose, turning his attention to Ryan, who frowned. “What story would that be, Ry-Ry?”

Ryan shuffled down into the bench, playing with his middle finger. His friends didn't really know that he was a newspaper writer. “Son of a b-”

Meanwhile, Belle marched down the sidewalk, straight towards the cafe. No one stood her up like that and got away with it. No sir. She wasn't going to deal with it. The few people she walked past gave her a frightened look, due to her scorned face, but she continued walking. She felt her heart speed like a little hamster on a wheel. 

She reached the front door of the cafe and swung open the door, almost hitting an elderly couple enjoying a muffin. A little child, only the age of 4, pointed at her and chuckled a little. Apparently, her anger was something laughable. A worker behind the counter just stared at her with large, deer-like eyes.

“Ma'am?” she asked, wiping down the counter to distract herself. “Can I help you?” Belle stomped up to the front and slammed her hands down on the counter.

“Yes, you can...” She glanced at the name tag. Nicole. “Nicole. Can you tell me where Jake is?” The girl just nodded.

“Of course. He's back in the back.” She slowly put the rag in the bucket on the floor, not taking her eyes of Belle in fear of her striking. “Do you want me to go get him?”

Belle crossed her arms, rolling her eyes slightly. “Obviously.” The girl didn't seem the least bit offended and she just skipped back towards the kitchen. What a bimbo. Her ponytail was waving back and forth, annoying Belle with every swing. 

Perhaps Belle had a slight anger issue. Slight.

Within a minute or so, Jake came wandering out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with a towel before flinging it over his shoulder. His eyes remained on the floor and he walked without purpose. It was very obvious that Nicole didn't tell him that she was there. She probably forgot what she had to say in the 5 seconds it took to walk back into the back. Jake finally looked up and paused in his track. His eyes screamed of fear and she could tell he was contemplating saying something or turning around and walking back. She slightly chuckled. Either way, he was getting an earful. 

She crossed her arms and looked him up and down. “I was in the park,” she growled. “The one you told me to meet you at? Sound familiar?” 

Jake's jaw dropped and he began to stutter. “Oh! Was that today? I, uh- I..” 

The idiot Nicole came running back into the main restaurant and jumped next to Jake, locking their arms. Belle's eyes immediately went to Nicole's perfectly-manicured hand rested on his stomach. “Jakie! I'm going out, but I'll be right back! I told boss, so it's cool!” She reached up on her tip-toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making Belle wince. 

She rolled her eyes. The one guy she thought she could actually get to know had a girlfriend. Typical guy. Every guy she met either had a girlfriend or wasn't interested in the slightest. She started mumbling historic curses she'd read in a book as she pushed her glasses up on her nose, trying to salvage any confidence she had left. She hadn't notice that the entire cafe stopped to watch her have her little 'moment'. She wasn't much for attention, so this made her stomach churn. 

“Oh, lord..” She whispered, grabbed her bookbag strap and running out of the cafe. She wasn't too sure if she was running because of Jake or the attention, but she was running. And her heart was broken. That was all she knew.

The second she stepped off the sidewalk to cross the road, a loud truck horn blazed, filling the air with its annoying noise. She stopped, turning to look at the oncoming truck with huge doe eyes. She swore that her heart had stopped and all of the blood in her body seemed to evaporate. There was a pounding in her head, coming from her ears. They say that you see 'your life flash before your eyes' when you're about to die, but all she could think of was the pain she was about to experience. All of this happened within seconds.

She closed her eyes and took a breath.

Boom.


	2. Chapter 2

Belle fluttered her eyes open, squinting as the fluorescent light flooded her room. There was a tiny beeping coming from her right, but she still couldn't see. She blinked a little, getting her vision back. She put her hand on the back of her neck, rubbing a little. 

A hospital? She was the only one in the room, besides a sleeping man in a chair opposite her bed. She couldn't get a good look at his face, because of his hanging head. She tried opening her mouth to call to him, but her pounding head kept her from barely moving. 

“Damn,” she groaned. “What happened?”

A nurse came walking into the room, holding a clipboard in her right hand and a glass of orange juice in her left. She was tall and skinny with her brown hair cut into a short bob. Her name tag read 'Victoria', which was quite a pretty name. She seemed familiar, but still, Belle's head kept her from thinking too much.

“Ah, Belle. You're awake.” She walked over to the bedside, handing Belle the glass of juice. “I brought you some orange juice. I hope it's alright.”

She gulped it down immediately. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until the first drop of juice hit her throat. In fact, now that she thought about it, she felt like all the liquids had been drained from her body and she felt queasy. 

Victoria laughed a little, writing something down on her clipboard. “Thirsty? I understand. You've been in a coma for almost 2 days.”

Her eyes shot wide open. 2 whole days? That meant she'd missed work. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in two days. Her parents were probably panicking. More importantly... Who was the strange man sleeping in the chair at her feet?

“Oh, uhm..” She managed to lift a finger, pointing towards the sleeping person.

“Oh, him! That's..” She checked her clipboard for a minute. “A fellow named Nick Tarns. He was the one who saved you from the oncoming truck.”

She frowned. “What truck?” 

“Do you not remember?” She shook her head. “Oh, well, allow me to explain. You came running out of a coffee shop, right into the road.” That sounded like her. “Nick here jumped in front of the truck, pulling the two of you back onto the sidewalk. Nick only suffered a broken ankle, but you were in worse shape. When he pulled you, you slammed your head so hard against the pavement that you passed out. And..” She checked her clipboard again. “Well, we aren't sure why you fell into a coma. You just did. Strange thing. No one had ever really seen that before. A random coma. But we haven't informed your parents. He told us not to."

'No one had ever really seen that before' was not something you say to a hospital patient who had been passed out on their possible death bed for two days. She couldn't remember why she was at the coffee shop, but she did remember the park and she did remember Nick and her conversation. Weird. Why was he here and not off suing her?

Victoria noticed her stare at Nick and let out another chuckle. “Nick's been here since the accident. We tried to make him go home and get rest, but he refused. He's been sleeping in that chair and eating down at the cafeteria.” She leaned in, hushing her voice. “Is he your boyfriend? He said he wasn't.”

“N-no.. No, he's not.” Belle answered, her voice growing shaky. Why on Earth was he still here? She didn't know who he was; she'd only met him an hour before the incident. He was just the boy from the park. 

Suddenly, he shuffled, letting out a mixture of a sigh and a groan. He was probably in as much pain as she was. He lifted his head, although it took a minute. The two locked eyes and neither said anything, as if they had never seen each other before.

“I'll leave you two alone,” Victoria giggled. “I'll be back in an hour with your medicine, Belle.” She practically skipped out of the room, Belle giving her an eye roll.

“How are you feeling?” Nick asked, his voice sounding more like a whimper. Belle felt bad for the guy; he had bags under his eyes the size of countries. She recognized his t-shirt, so he obviously hadn't changed. He stood and limped over to the end of her bed, sitting down. “Don't worry, the hospital let me use their showers and I borrowed deodorant from a doctor.” He smiled. “I'm clean.”

She wanted to smile at his unnecessary note, but she was too confused to think about anything other than the accident. “Why did you push me out of the way?” She forwardly asked. “You should've just let me get hit, then you wouldn't be here in pain with me.” He didn't seem offended by the question, but he didn't notice how forward she was. "And why didn't you call my parents?"

He half-shrugged. “Not sure. I felt like it was the good guy thing to do.” He patted her feet through the blanket carefully, in case she was still in pain. “Besides, the guy in the coffee shop came running out after you and I didn't want him to get hurt. Parents? Oh, I could handle you. No need to make them freak over nothing I couldn't handle myself."

They sat for a moment, listening to the beeping of random hospital machines. Nick just sat, not bothered to ask any of his million questions, like if she needed anything. Her mind ran, trying to put all the pieces together. The boy from the coffee shop was the date who stood her up, but she couldn't remember his name. Nick really was a good guy.. Weird. She figured most boys were horrible.

“Are you tired?” She asked, her voice less forward than before. He gave her a tiny nod, not looking up from the cold floor. “You really should go home and get some rest.”

“I wanted to wait and make sure you were alright.”

“I'm fine. Please.” He looked up into her eyes and she noticed his eyelids half-closed. No way he could make it home himself. She'd have Victoria call him a cab. “Can you please go home and sleep?”

He nodded and patted his thighs, standing up off the bed. “Of course. Oh, right-” He took her cell phone and wallet out of his pocket. “I couldn't save your purse, but I got your cell phone and wallet. “But don't worry, I've already paid your hospital bills, put my name into your phone, and when you're out of here, I want you to come meet me at the address I've put in my contact.” He began to walk out of the room. “Have a good sleep.” 

Belle began to panic. He payed for her hospital bills? They were probably thousands of dollars and she didn't have that kind of money in her purse. “Nick, wait! I-” Before she could finish, he disappeared. She pulled out her cell phone, bringing up his contact. She noticed a stupid selfie as his picture and she couldn't help but crack a smile. She scrolled down to the address. 3456 Westboro Park.

“Westboro Park?” She mumbled under her breath. “That's where all the rich people live..” She glanced back at the door, bringing back the memory of him leaving again. He didn't seem rich. In fact, the way he dressed, he looked dirt poor. “Weird.”

The door pushed open and in walked Victoria, holding a bottle of pills. “Miss, you ready for your medicine?” Belle sighed and nodded her head, putting her phone down on the bedside table. She needed some serious medication; her head was really hurting now.


	3. Chapter 3

3 days later, they released her from the hospital. They sent her off with a bunch of medications, some painkillers, and a smile. She was more than happy to be out of that hand-sanitized prison.

She'd texted Nick a couple times, all with no response. She tried to tell herself that his phone was dead or missing, but she had a gut feeling that he was ignoring her. Maybe it was because she was too harsh with all the questions she asked at the hospital. During then, she'd forgotten that he was in the wreck too and he was hurt as well.

She spent the day at home instead of going to see Nick. She felt like it'd be weird just showing up. She sat quietly on her couch, sending a text to Nick to let him know she was coming the next day.

[Belle: Hey. It's Belle.. Again. I'm coming over to meet you tomorrow. Is that alright?]

She clicked her phone off and wandered into the kitchen, as if not expecting a reply. Within a few minutes, there was a beep from her phone.

[Nick: Sounds like a plan. See you then.]

Not only was she confused, but a little angry. She'd texted if he was alright and if how his ankle was feeling, yet no response. She worried, as much as she hated to admit it. This guy saved her life and, even if she didn't know him, she had a right to make sure he was still breathing. He might have been a little eccentric and that's what she tried to tell herself.

She drove directly to the address and almost hit a tree once she got the sight of his house. It was huge, one of the biggest mansions she'd seen in a long time. There was a large, white gate with a gold 'NT' painted on all of the gate posts. She could barely see the mansion thanks to the gate. From what she saw, it seemed overly extravagant. She drove up to the speaker box in the driveway in front of the gate opening and rolled down her window, pushing the little red button on the box. 

“Hello?” said an man's voice from the little speaker. The man sounded older since his voice was a tad shaky. 

“Um, hello?” She responded with a raised eyebrow. An older man's house? Maybe she'd gotten a wrong address.. Nick just typed it in wrong. Still, it was worth a shot. “I'm here to see Nick?”

“Yes. Please drive forward, Ms. Williams.” Ms. Williams? Great. Nick talked about her to an old man who runs the speaker box. With a loud buzzer noise, the front gate opened and she carefully drove forward, careful to not freak out.

This. House. Was. Huge.

It looked like an 18th century house with its large columns and crazy attention to detail. It was a white, brown, gold-painted house with windows out of the wazoo and a large main door at the front. There were rose bushes that outlined the side of the house and she swore she caught sight of a pool in his backward. A large fountain graced the center of his front yard and she smiled, taking a penny out of her pocket and tossing it into the water. She was always a sucker for making wishes in fountains, regardless of where that fountain was.

“Having fun?” Belle spun around on her heels, holding her purse closer to her body. Nick stood there, a smirk grin on his face. “Thanks for your donation.” Belle slightly smiled. He was in ragged black skinny jeans and a red/black checkered shirt. He still had the piercings in and today, she noticed a little bit more eyeliner than the other day.

“Is this your house?” She asked with a hint of laughter in her voice. “This is absolutely insane.”

Nick looked around the front yard. It wasn't bad, he supposed. The groundskeeper needed to do some raking, but.. It wasn't all bad. His eyes went back to Belle, who had painted on a face of pure wonder. He grinned; she looked pretty when she was smiling. “All mine. My parents own it and they visit sometimes, but..” He slid his hands in his pocket. “It's pretty much mine.”

“I didn't know Ryan was friends with a rich kid!” He couldn't help but roll his eyes. She just had to ruin the moment and bring up another guy. Ryan, his best friend, of all people.

“Ryan? Our parents are business partners.” He clicked his tongue. “Ryan's loaded too.” Belle's eyes widened like she'd just heard the craziest news in the world. What exactly was she expecting? Brooklyn was full of wealthy people, especially the part of Brooklyn they lived in. “Would you like to come inside or do you want to stay out here, drooling over my rose bushes?” 

Belle, face red, pulled herself together and nodded. Good for her. She finally meets a nice guy and almost has a heart-attack over his front yard. She walked over to him, following behind him as he lead her inside. “By the way, who was the guy who let me in?”

“Oh, Phillip?” She shrugged. There was no way she'd know his name.. Stupid Nick. “He's my butler. He's probably off making a snack or something.”

They stepped into the main foyer, which was almost as beautiful as the yard. There were huge steps and a giant chandelier with pictures and portraits on the walls. She heard what sounded like The Beatles coming from the next room over. “Don't mind that,” he said, noting the music. “Collins is practicing his piano.” Collins? Phillip? She didn't think that Nick knew that she'd never been here before.

He led her up the staircase into a long, semi-lit hallway. He passed a couple doors until he reached one that had 'NT' painted on it. She figured 'NT' was Nick Tarns. He had his monogram painted all over his house. He pushed the door open and walked in, leaving her to walk in behind him.

Considering the huge bed in the corner of the room, Belle figured this was his bedroom. She looked around in amazement. His bedroom was probably the size of her entire apartment; it easily took up an entire floor. She tried to not look like an idiot, but it was really hard. She felt like she was in the White House. She found herself moving to his bookshelf which had a bunch of pictures on it. There was one that showed Nick holding a huge cup. 

“Huh?” She said out loud. Nick turned to notice her and he walked over, standing next to her and admiring the picture. “What on Earth is that?”

“You mean the cup?” He asked. She nodded, but he just shook his head. “Not important, just a cup.” He walked back over, throwing his body onto his bed. He winced a little at the impact; his ankle was still really sore. He sat up and crossed his legs. “So, let's chat.” 

She walked over to a chair against the wall and politely sat down, crossing her legs. “Okay, what about?”

“This Jake character.” Jake? She didn't remember a Jake. 

“Who's Jake?” She asked. Nick raised an eyebrow, which made him look 10 times more attractive than he already did. With him sitting on the bed.. in skinny jeans.. with that look.. Belle knocked the thought of her head.

“You don't know who Jake is?” Belle shook her head. “The asshole who stood you up?” She got stood up? Well, that's rude. “The reason why you fell into the coma?” This Jake is the reason? What an ass! Still, with all this, she couldn't remember. “You aren't joking, right?”

“No!” She quickly rubbed off some of the sweat on her palms onto her pants. “I have no idea who this Jake is.” 

“Good.” He stood off the bed and walked over to a drawer. “I got you a present.” Belle's eyes sparkled. Present? She loved presents. She jumped out of her chair, running over to stand next to him. He noticed her body quickly come into his side view and he smiled. She was cute, like a kitty. He grabbed a brown box and placed it carefully in her hands. “Open.”

She sat down on the floor, cutting the tape with her long fingernails. Nick rolled his eyes and got down on his knees next to her. She popped open the box flaps and inside sat a Nikon Camera, exactly like the one she lost in the car accident. She gasped and when she turned for an explanation, Nick simply leaned over and gave her a boop on the nose, his face dangerously close to hers. Her cheeks immediately flushed rose-red and she turned back to the box in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. 

“I couldn't save it from the car accident,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I felt really bad so I got you a new one.” He chuckled at how red her cheeks were getting. It was cute. “Sorry I couldn't save all the pictures that were on your old one.” 

She quickly put the camera back into the box and closed it up. She looked up at him with huge eyes that made him melt a little. “Nick, I can't accept this. You paid my hospital bills, you saved me from death?” She pushed the box away from her. “I can't take this.” He moved to sit in front of her. He pushed the box back.

“You need to. It's my guilty conscience.” HIS guilty conscience? She's the one who pretty much made him get hurt! “Besides, I had some money to spend.” 

She looked back at the camera. Well.. if he truly insisted.. “Fine, but I'm going to pay you back eventually.” He simply nodded his head, knowing in the back of his mind that she probably never would. Suddenly, her mind began racing, all of the past events flooding back into her head. Car accident.. Why did it happen?.. What even was happening?

“You have questions,” Nick pointed out as he stood back up and sat on his bed. “Ask away.” 

“Why did you save me?” She asked in a loud, almost angry tone. “Why didn't you let me get hit? Why was I there anyway? And..” He raised a hand, stopping her talking. That was the polite version of 'seriously, shut up'. 

“I saved you because I couldn't just sit there and watch someone get hit by a car. Regardless of who it was.” That wasn't exactly the whole truth, but there was no way that he was going to tell her that he wanted her number and was following her to get it. “I just couldn't as a proper human being. I was there because.. uh.. I was going just down the street to get a coffee.” She shrugged; made sense. He let out a breath.. She looked like she was buying it all. “I saved you because I could.”

“Because you could?” She asked. He just nodded as a response. “I never SAID you could.”

“I know.” He laid himself down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She clicked her tongue and he let out a chuckle. “A proper gentleman must always save the pretty girl, even if it means a broken ankle.” Guilt washed over her and her head lowered. That's why she was here in the first place.. Because she owed him. 

“Speaking of that..” Her voice lowered and started laying with her fingers. Nick noticed her change in tone and he sat forward, giving her a look. “What do I owe you?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean.. do I owe you money?” She stood off the floor and started pacing. She always seemed to start to pace whenever things got tense. “I mean, it'll take a while for me to pay you, but in a year or so-” Nick couldn't help but laugh.

“Seriously? You don't owe me a penny! I was just being difficult. Besides, I could've chosen not to save you, so I did this to myself.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You didn't have anything to do with it.”

“But!” 

Before she could argue anything, there was a loud buzzer noise. She looked around up towards the ceiling. Nick rolled his eyes; it wasn't a message from God or something. It was just his butler. 

“Sir, there's someone here to see you.” Phillip's voice came over the speakers in Nick's room. Nick jumped off the bed and walked to the intercom. He pushed the button and talked into the little voice box. 

“Who is it?” He asked. 

“Magnus, sir.” Nick's eyes shot open. “Magnus Bane.” 

Nick let out a long sigh. “Let him in.”


	4. Chapter 4

Belle stood silently, leaned up against Nick's bedroom door with her ear pressed up against it. Nick and his guest were just outside the room. She knew it was rude to listen in, but she just couldn't help it. A guy with a name like Magnus Bane must be interesting. 

“Magnus, why are you here?” It sounded like Nick's voice, but it was much angrier. 

“I'm here to bring you down to the Institute.” She assumed this was Magnus's voice. “You're my apprentice.” 

“I was your apprentice. I told you that I've quit all this warlock business. I'm done.” Warlock? 

“You can't just leave it, Nick. It follows you.” She heard Magnus let out a sigh. “What happened to your ankle?”

“It's none of your business.”

“You hurt it saving that girl, didn't you? The one Jace requested?” Who on Earth was Jace and why was he requesting her?

“Yes, her, and I'm not letting him have her. She doesn't know where the cup is!” 

“How do you know? She might be off, running around with it now!”

Now it was Nick's turn to sigh. “She's in my bedroom, Magnus.”

“Wow, Nick! Didn't know you had it in you.” Belle almost gagged. 

“No, not like that. I mean, I refuse to let Jace have her and I will protect her. Why else do you think I saved her? Then, Jace would've gotten out of the truck that hit her, picked her up and carried her to the Institute. I was there to care for her.” So, Jace was the one who hit her? “Now, get out. You know the way.” 

She didn't put the link together before it was too late. Nick swung the door open, Belle falling down at his feet. She laid there, her hair being tossed in front of her face. Nick looked down on her in shame. She was listening? Great, now she had even more questions.

“Were you listening?” He asked in a harsh tone. Belle almost shuddered. She liked the Nicer Nick that she'd been talking with not 10 minutes ago. 

“Yes, but-” 

“So..” The two of them turned to Magnus, who had a sly look on his face. Magnus was a tall Asian man with eyeliner as blue as the sea. He looked stupid, but part of him just felt.. magical. She felt drawn to him. “You're the lovely Belle Williams.” He offered her his hand and she grabbed him, Magnus pulling her up. He lightly kissed her hand, which made Belle smile. “I've heard plenty about you.”

“Hello,” Belle responded with a silly grin on her face. Magnus let go of her hand and it dropped to her side.

“I'm Magnus Bane, but you can just call me Magnus.” He gave her a flirty wink, to which Nick rolled his eyes at.

“Aren't you dating Alec?” Nick snapped. He crossed his arms and pretended to burn holes in Magnus's skull. 

He waved Nick's comment away. “Off and on, off and on.” He turned his direction back to Belle. “So, Belle. What were you two doing?” 

“Oh!” Her voice was much higher in a dreamy sort-of fashion. Nick rolled his eyes again; of course she fell victim to Magnus's charm. When he tried, he really could get anyone he wanted. “We were discussing stuff.”

“Related to the car accident?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. She quickly nodded, not even asking to why he knew that she was in a car accident. “Well, has it been settled?” She nodded again. “Well, dear, would you like to accompany me on a lovely trip down to the nicest place in all of Brooklyn?”

“Magnus.” Nick said in a warning tone. “Don't.”

“If you're so nervous, then come with us.” Magnus said. “I'm sure Isabelle would love to see you.” Nick shuffled his feet. Ten bucks said Isabelle really did not want to see him. He turned to Belle and offered his arm. “Come with us, sweetheart.” Belle gladly took his arm. She felt like she was in a trance and it was fantastic. The two of them walked off towards the front of the house, an angry Nick behind them.

“Stupid warlock..” He uttered under his breath. “Putting enchantments on Belle.. Making her love him..” He scoffed. “Pathetic..” 

Magnus, hearing all of these, simply smiled. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Yes, maybe he had enchanted her with a simple kiss to the hand. He knew it was frustrating Nick, he didn't know why, but he did it purely for entertainment. You don't get many unsuspecting victims all the time, so you took advantage of it when you did. 

The three of them walked out of Nick's house and into Magnus's stretch limo, to which Belle awed over. “Wow, you have your own limo?” She asked, her jaw practically hitting the floor. She moved closer to him, gazing up at Magnus's sharp cheek bones. 

Nick scoffed. “I have a limo,” he mumbled to himself, crossing his arms like a 5-year old. Magnus heard and he turned around to look at him. He gave Nick the slightest of head nods, Belle still looking up at the magical warlock like he was some sort of Greek god. Nick, honestly, felt the urge to smack Magnus right in his perfect cheekbones, but he somehow closed that feeling off. 

“It even has a mini bar.” Magnus purred, playing with the tips of Belle's hair. 

“I have a full sized bar..” Nick was slowly getting louder with every word. “AND I HAVE A BIGGER PENIS.” 

The two of them stopped and turned to look at Nick, who hadn't even realized what he said until it had happened. He slammed his forehead with his own hand and he wanted to hide in a hole. 

Magnus looked Nick up and down then clicked his tongue. “Not even close.” He gently nudged Belle into the limo and held the door open, standing behind it with a cocky smirk. Nick noticed his overuse of sparkly blue eyeliner. “Well, are you just going to stand there and melt in your own embarrassment or are you going to get in the car?” 

Whilst the other two talked about music, movies, and nothing pertaining to where exactly they were going, Nick sat and thought about what all he did to deserve this.

At the age of 12, Nicolas Tarns was taken in by Magnus as his new apprentice. He was to learn all of Magnus's tricks into becoming a high class warlock. Come the age of 16, Nick was already a trained professional at his hand and, if he'd taken in a few more years, he'd be better than Magnus himself. Nick was so glorified around the Institute; they even had him painted with the Mortal Cup, just to prove how upper class he was. On the day of his 18th birthday, Nick saw something that no person should ever have to witness. The death of his own family member by another magical creature. At that moment, Nick vowed to never get back into this whole 'warlock' business. 

And here it was, showing up at his house in blue eyeliner and tight jeans. Sadly, however, he knew he wasn't going to be able to escape it completely.

When he was 17, the mortal cup went missing. No one knew exactly where it was, except some girl named Jocelyn, but she wasn't much of Nick's concern. Some weird teenagers started showing up in Magnus's club and he finally met Alec, Jace, Isabelle, and Clary, all shadow hunters in search for the cup. 

He'd made great friends with Alec, even dated Isabelle for a while, but he and Jace didn't speak often. They didn't hate each other and they weren't rude, but he had no desire to get to know the blonde boy any further. Clary? Well, he wasn't sure where Clary was. 

After he left the warlock business, he completely lost all contact with his friends and part of him didn't really care. They were a simple phone call away, but he never had the push to pick up the phone. He'd heard of the mortal cup being stolen again and, being a tad curious, he found out that a simple commoner, named Belle, was Jace's number one target. Using mutual friends and different situations, Nick had now committed himself to protecting Belle. Never did he think he'd actually like her..

He felt a touch on his thigh and he jumped out of his thoughts. He spun to Belle, who touched him lightly with a cute smile. “Are you okay?” She asked in a hushed tone. “You look worried.” 

His eyes flicked from Magnus then back to Belle, giving her a tiny grin. “I'm fine, promise. Just.. Got a lot on my mind.” A lot on his mind? An understatement. At the current moment, he was trying to decide if he was even going to live to see dinner time. With Magnus and Jace on his tail.. He was public enemy number one. He figured it was best Belle didn't know that.

“So..” The sound of Magnus's voice kicked Nick out of his mind palace and back into the present world. Magnus sat forward, putting his elbows on his knees, staring deeply at Belle. “How exactly did you two meet?”

“Oh! He's a friend of a friend. We met in the park.” She remembers them meeting, but she doesn't remember something that happened not an hour later? That's.. odd. Nick didn't want to say suspicious, but the whole thing was a little fishy. “He saved me.”

Magnus's left eyebrow raised. “Saved you?” Nick rolled his eyes about 4 times. Magnus was acting like he didn't already know the full story. He wouldn't be surprised if Magnus was actually there. “What do you mean by that?”

Belle seemed more than happy to answer all of Magnus's questions. “He saved me from getting run over by a truck. He took me to the hospital and.. yeah.”

Magnus relaxed back into the leather seat, crossing his legs in a 'I mean business' kind of way. He held his hands together in his lap and his eyes moved from Nick to Belle quickly. “Are you sure he didn't just save you to get in your pants?”

Belle's face went from happy to mortified in about 3.2 seconds. She honestly hadn't even pondered the fact. He had a trusting face.. Her fingers began to twitch. Nick crossed his arms and moved his look out the window. Sex obviously wasn't his intention, but if it happened to come along, he wouldn't say no.

“W-what? N-n-no, he wouldn't-”

“I mean, he is a warlock. He has spells to make you want him.” He leaned forward and hushed his tone, “He even has spells to make him bigger, if you know what I mean.”

Belle wanted to puke. She wasn't sure what she was more disgusted at; Magnus's sex references or the fact that he was talking some kind of crap about warlocks and spells. What did he think she was; some sort of volunteer at his magic show? 

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Belle asked, her voice growing loud and angry. “Warlocks? Spells? How dumb do you think I am?”

“Very dumb, in fact.” Magnus straight-forwardly answered. Belle's mouth shot open and he chuckled. “You really don't know what we do for a living? Have you never heard about any sort of magical, mystical creature?”

Nick gave Magnus an 'I told you so' look. “She does not have the cup, Magnus Bane.”

Magnus sighed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. “Doesn't matter. Jace still wants her.”

“Yeah and you think I'm trying to get into her pants? Just wait until she meets Jace.” He mirrored Magnus and closed his eyes, moving back into his thoughts.

Belle was so confused, she felt her brain pounding. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT!?” She screamed. Sadly, the two boys didn't care to hear her whine. “AND NO ONE IS GETTING INTO THESE PANTS, DO YOU HEAR ME?”

Magnus scoffed. “Whatever dearie. Stop yelling if you want the glass of the limo's windows to remain in tact.”


	5. Chapter 5

They pulled up in front of a huge, run-down building in the middle of Brooklyn. Belle would see it whenever she came downtown to go clubbing or out to dinner. It was just some sort of church that looked like it hadn't been looked after at all for the past 200 years. Belle glanced out the window and turned up her nose.

“What? Not your style?” Magnus asked. “I thought Isabelle was an idiot when she painted the window shingles up near the top gold.”

Belle raised an eyebrow and gave him a crazy look. “What are you talking about?” Nick opened the limo and climbed out, looking up. “It's just a gross church.”

Nick crossed his arms and looked at Magnus, who climbed out of the limo next. “See?” He whispered. “She can't even see it.” Magnus clearing ignored him and helped Belle out of the limo, shutting the door behind her.

“You took me here?” Belle asked, still looking at the church in disgust. “Wow, what a perfect first date.” She slid over to Nick and whispered, “Is this Jace person dangerous?”

Nick looked from the church to Magnus to Belle then back to Magnus. “I don't know,” he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. “Depends.”

“Depends on what-”

Magnus quickly pulled Belle's arm and wrapped hers into his, leading her to the front gate of the church. Magnus knew Nick's little brain was thinking of way to get out of the situation, but he also knew he wouldn't leave without Belle. He would just have to keep Belle away from him. Easy enough, especially when he pulled Isabelle into the equation. He would be so caught up in not crying that he'd forget about the girl.

Magnus led Belle inside the gate, Nick following behind pouting like a kid. Belle was a little nervous for her own safety, but surely Nick could save her if things got bad. She let out a tiny sigh; scary when your life is dependent on a boy who you just met.

They stopped in front of the door, Magnus looking up at the building then turning his attention to Belle. “Promise me something?” He asked in a satin-like tone. Belle felt weak. Curse his face and smooth voice.

“I guess?”

“Promise to not faint?” Belle's eyes widened. What the hell kind of question was that? Rule one of life: When a person is fearing for their life, do not make them promise not to faint, because that only makes them worse.

“Wait, wha-”

Magnus unlocked the door and threw Belle in, making her fall right on her face in the church's hall. She shut her eyes, attempting to make the pain better (it didn't work). She seethed with anger; who did this guy think he was? Pushing her in doors, taking her to random places around the city.. She was way too trusting of people.

She opened her eyes while laying there and instead of a dirty floor like she expected, she saw gorgeous white marble. Her eyes scanned up and before her eyes was a huge gorgeous building with a grand staircase and a hallway to nowhere. The walls were lined with gold and beautiful paintings of angels and battlefields. She didn't even realize that her mouth was wide open. She dreamed about a place like this before.. Was she in heaven?

“Close your mouth, babe.” Magnus tapped her jaw and Belle quickly closed your mouth. “You'll catch flies.”

Belle tuned out Magnus and ran to a glass case in the corner that held many artifacts, most gold and shiny. She didn't exactly know what they were or what they were used for, but it was pretty, so who cares. A soft song of a harp filled her sub-conscious. Yep, she was in heaven.

Nick rolled his eyes and crossed to Magnus. “How come she can see everything? You didn't mark her.”

“Temporary spell. Isabelle or Alec will be down any minute and they'll mark her.”

“Mark her? But it'll hurt her, she can't handle that kind of magic.”

The sound of high heels clicking against marble caused Magnus and Nick to turn towards the stairs, where Clary and Isabelle stood, both with looks right at Belle's back. Nick saw Isabelle and swallowed. He hadn't seen her since he was 18 and she looked so different than how he remembered her. Her eyes were more golden and her hair was more silky. Damn.. He knew seeing her again would be hard, but not this hard.

“Magnus,” Isabelle purred, refusing to look at Nick. She didn't have a huge problem with Nick, she was glad they broke up, but there was no need talking to him more than needed. “I thought we stopped bringing in mundanes after Simon.”

Belle spun around to look at the two girls. They were gorgeous, tall, and skinny with smooth hair down to their waists. The dark-haired girl could kill you with those heels and the red-haired girl reminded her of a Disney princess. Wow. Maybe these girls were angels? Her eyes moved to Nick, who was staring at the dark-haired girl with a look he'd given her a few hours ago. Her heart skipped a beat, but she wasn't sure why.

“Jace requested her,” Magnus answered quickly. “Lovely to see you too, Belly.” Belly? Belle winced. She'd dealt with that nickname her entire elementary school career. She understood how this girl felt.

“Requested her?” The redhead spoke up. She stepped down to the bottom floor and looked Belle up and down. “Hmm. Should I mark her?” She turned to Magnus, who gave her a simple head nod. She walked up to Belle and gave her a comforting smile. “Hi, I'm Clary.”

“Belle.” Belle kindly responded. “Um.. Are you going to mark me?”

“Yep!” Clary reached down into her boot and pulled out a big red stick-looking thing. “This won't take long, okay?” She reached out and grabbed Belle's arm, pulling it towards her. Belle just stared at her in scared confusion, making Magnus chuckle. The girl's stick lit up and began to draw something on Belle's arm. Belle winced in pain; was she getting tattooed?

Isabelle stepped down to Nick and gave him a tiny smile. “Hey Nick. Nice to see you again.” Belle's eyes moved from her arm to Nick, temporarily forgetting the pain.

Nick swallowed again. “N-nice to see you too. You look good.” Belle watched his awkwardness and she felt a burst of jealousy run through her body, making her face red. Her head hurt, but she wasn't sure if it was Nick or the pain of the random tattoo.

“Done.” Clary stepped back and let go of Belle's arm. “Damn girl. Your pulse is speeding like a car. Is everything okay?”

Belle looked down and saw a pattern on her arm. It looked like a hieroglyphic and the skin around it pulsated. She rubbed her wrist, attempting to dull the pain. “Yeah,” she sighed. “Fine. Hey, will this come off? Like a temporary tattoo kind-of deal?”

Clary chuckled and walked back to Magnus. “So, what's this about Jace? Why the hell would he call you to hunt down some mundane?” Belle didn't know what 'mundane' meant, but she figured they were talking about her. She scooted over to stand next to Nick, making Isabelle look over and give her a death stare.

“You're asking me like I know what goes on inside of Jace's tiny brain. Besides, I think it has something to do with Nick.”

“Me?” Nick shouted. “What does it have to do with me?”

“Jace still thinks you have the cup,” Magnus shortly answered. “He thinks you're hiding it in Belle.” Belle raised her head at the sound of her name.

“Well, that's stupid.” Nick crossed his arms and pouted. “I just met the girl a few weeks ago.”

“Don't be so hard-headed,” Isabelle snapped. “Belle, are you hungry? Follow me, I'll make you something to eat.” Belle nodded, looked between Nick and Magnus, and followed Isabelle up the stairs and around the corner.

Nick watched her leave, cursing himself for getting her into this. “I should have never saved her,” he sighed.

Magnus patted his back. “It's okay,” he answered. “It's not her fault you left my company.”

Nick slid away from him and balled his fists. “WELL, IT'S NOT HER FAULT YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE.”

Clary rubbed her temples and started off up the stairs. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “This is not going to be fun.”


	6. Chapter 6

Isabelle made Belle a pot of chicken soup and Clary a Tylenol smoothie to help with her headache. The two girls talked and laughed together until 9-ish when Belle began to yawn. Isabelle found this weird liking towards the mundane, which was weird for her, especially since this girl was a potential Nick girlfriend. Still, she wanted to keep Belle around.

“Well,” Belle started. “It's been really fun, but I have to go find Nick.. I need to get home.” She stood from her chair and smiled at the girls. “Thanks for my dinner.”

Isabelle nodded her head. “Sure. But, are you leaving? Nick's taken his old room. I can let you stay in the guest room.” 'Old room'? Nick used to live here? Lucky.

“Really? I hate to impose-”

“Ridiculous!” Clary smiled, jumping up from her chair. “You'd only be imposing if you forced yourself to sleep in the guest room. Follow me, I'll take you there.”

“Oh, I-” Clary raised a finger to her lips, shushing the girl.

“I'll bring you some clothes. You look like my size.” She grabbed Belle's arm and pulled her out of the bedroom. Belle sighed; this girl really liked to pull her by her wrist.

Clary pulled Belle along the hallways, wondering until they reached a long hallway with a bunch of doors lining the walls. The dark browns and greens contrasts the lighter foyer.

“Here. Just follow the left wall 4 doors down. That's the guest room. Just go in and make yourself comfy.” Clary motioned down the left wall and turned, walking out within a second.

Belle walked down the hallway, counting the doors as she walked. She reached door #4 and grabbed the doorknob, pushing it open. Suddenly, she was a shirtless boy sitting on the bed with a magic stick like Clary's, drawing on his arm. She gasped and backed up, shutting the door. “Oh my goodness!” She cried. “I'm so sorry, I-”

The door suddenly opened back up, the boy standing in the doorway with a smirk face. He was tall, lean, and had gorgeous eyes just like everyone else who seemed to live in the building. His eyes seemed to glow with a blue tint and her knees felt weak. He had the smell of a forest and she had a random desire to poke his large muscles. His blonde hair was long, practically calling her to run her fingers through it.

“Hello,” the man spoke with a satin voice. “You must be lost.”

Belle's cheeks flushed red and she backed up a step. “Y-Yes, I'm so sorry. I'm looking for the g-guest room.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, giving her a seductive look. “Nervous? You're stuttering.” He licked his lips and leaned against the doorframe. “No need to be nervous. Your name, ma'am?”

“B-Belle,” she somehow managed to choke out. “Are you Isabelle's twin brother? Alec?”

The seductive look turned mischievous as he slowly nodded his head. “Sure. I'm Alec.” Isabelle didn't mention that her brother was stunning. Although, everyone she came across that night was, so she wasn't sure why she figured any less.

Belle heard the sound of footsteps and she turned to see Clary, holding a stack of clothes in her hand. Belle's eyes screamed for help and Clary let out a sigh. “Oh my god, I'm sorry,” Clary apologized. “The guest room is on the right side of the hall. Stupid me; I'm still learning where everything is.”

She got down to Belle and put the pack of clothes in her hand. “Go get changed. Sorry about that.” She turned Belle towards the door and gave her a slight push. Belle felt like she was being treated like a preschooler. Was Clary not a 'mundane', whatever that meant? Maybe not. Maybe that's why she was being treated as so. She missed Nick.

“Hey,” she heard Clary growl. “It's not funny, Jace, messing with her.” Belle reached the door and spun around, looking the blonde boy straight in the eyes. THAT was Jace? The boy who was 'summoning' her; the one who hit her with his car? He lied about being Alec? What an ass.. She gave him a look then turned back and walked into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Jace watched her leave, giving her a smirk as she moved. So, there she was. The mortal cup stealer. She was prettier than he'd imagined.. That easily made her more sinister to him. Plus, she was obviously stupid; he didn't even look like a twin to Isabelle. Amateur.

“Hey.” Clary gave him a nice smack on the cheek, pushing Jace out of his thoughts. “Why did you call upon a mundane?” She walked into his bedroom and Jace shut the door, leaning against it. “Is it the mortal cup thing?” Jace crossed his arms and nodded. “Look, I understand you're trying to find it, but meddling in the mundane world is not the way to go.”

“You don't understand Clary.” He growled, pushing off from the door. “It's Valentine. I know how he works. He'd do anything to send me off the right track. I have to find it before he does and YOUR mother hid it. How do I know she didn't hide it with Magnus's, her own friend, apprentice? How do I know that the apprentice didn't get scared and hide it with a mundane, just to confuse everyone.” Jace shook his head and balled his fists. “Nick is even protecting the girl. That makes everything more suspicious.”

Clary rubbed her temples.. Her headache was back. “You're looking too deep into this. We found the cup, remember?”

“But we lost it again!” Jace screamed, his voice getting louder. “And Valentine's more dangerous this time. Again, it's your mother who is the only one who knows where it is and she put herself in another damn coma!” He punched the wall, making Clary wince. “It's all I have to go on.” His voice lowered and sounded like an angry whimper. “Just follow my command.”

“Fine.” She snapped. “But if anyone gets hurt, physically or emotionally, I'm out. I'm not risking my mother or Luke's life again.” Clary told Luke, her mother's werewolf fiancee, that they had found the cup and they weren't in any more trouble.. Whoops.

“Emotionally?” Jace scoffed. “Oh, please.”

“Nick likes that girl!” Clary yelled. “And Isabelle likes Nick! Everyone knows that.” Clary stepped up in Jace's face, feeling the air get hotter. “And if you hurt my best girl friend, you're dead to me.” She sighed. “Whether you're my brother or not.”

Jace nodded and opened the door behind him, pulling it and stepping to the side. “Good night Clary.” He said, his voice still tense. Clary gave him one last look before walking out, Jace shutting the door behind her. He leaned up against the door and let out a sigh, his eyes falling to a book in the corner of the room. The book had pages sticking out of it and half the cover was missing, but it was just how he liked it.

His little book, not a “diary” like Isabelle called it, was filled with his thoughts, battle plans, and scribbles. It was his and anyone who could get to the book would instantly know the inner workings of his brain.. Which might not be the best of things. The last pages he wrote on was 4 pages filled with names and x's. Who stole the cup; who is working for Valentine. Who is this, who is that. Jace was obsessed.

Belle quickly got changed into Clary's pajamas and slid into bed, wiggling under the warm covers. She didn't realize how cold she was until she was under the heavy duvet. She pulled out her arm and stared at the drawing. Isabelle explained at dinner that it was temporary and it'd come off soon. So.. Was it Sharpie or something? If it was Sharpie, then it wouldn't have hurt as bad as it did. Weird. Maybe everyone in the house is part of some freaky cult and she needed the mark to 'initiate' herself. For some reason, all the thoughts of them being bad people or cult members didn't make her scared. In fact, she felt quite safe.

She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and clicked the screen on. 1 missed call from Nick. She pulled up a message and began typing.

[Belle: Hey. Are you still in the building?]

She laid her phone face down on her stomach, waiting for a response. A few minutes later, the phone beeped and buzzed.

[Nick: Yeah. Are you okay? Where are you?]

[Belle: Isabelle let me stay in the guest room. Clary brought me clothes.]

[Nick: Oh, good. Magnus went home. I'm sure we'll see more of him.. Sorry about all of this.]

[Belle: Nothing to be sorry for. Apparently, I did something and I'm in this just as much as you are.]

[Nick: You didn't do anything and I'll make sure that it gets through everyone's mind.]

[Belle: I met Jace.]

It was silent for a while. It was 10:00.. 10:15.. 10:30.. Still no text back. Her eyelids began to droop as exhaustion was about to take her. Suddenly, there were 5 violent knocks at the door. She groaned.

“But, I'm so comfortable..” She moaned. There were another couple knocks and she sighed, kicking the blankets up. She meandered over to the door and opened it, revealing a heavily-panting Nick. He was shirtless and was only wearing a pair of sweatpants, making Belle's eyes widen.

He pushed past her into her room and shut the door. Belle was still a little shell-shocked because of how randomly muscular Nick was. “You met him?” Nick said in a stern tone. “Why didn't you tell me that?”

“I did?” She raised an eyebrow. “I texted you.”

He sighed and had a strange desire to punch a hole in a wall. “No, ugh.. I mean, why didn't you come find me?”

What kind of dumb ass question was that? Belle met Jace because of her inability to follow directions and she had never even given this building much thought before 3:00 PM that afternoon. “Well, for one,” she started, holding up her index finger. Her tone matched his. “I was shoved into the room by Clary, who is quite the people-pusher if you ask me. And two, how the heck am I supposed to find you in this massive building?”

“I don't know.. Ask Clary! Ask Isabelle! Use your brain for once!”

“Okay, sure. I'll change into pajamas and ask these two girls who I just met where I can find your bedroom late at night. Because that doesn't make me sound like a prostitute at all!”

Nick slammed his head against the wall, leaning there, telling himself that he was fine and didn't need to kill this girl. She doesn't understand how dangerous Jace is.. She doesn't understand any of their powers. He turned back to her, his Warlock powers tensing up.

Belle froze. Nick's golden eyes were now cherry red and his cheeks were pink. What was happening? “Nick, are you-”

“Do you know what I can do?” He asked, feeling his powers returning to him for the first time since he was 18. “Do you know who I am? Who everyone else is? Where we even are?”

She bit her lip. “Umm... Isabelle told me this was some kind of agriculture school building.”

“AGRICULTURE? You think we all sit around here everyday, discussing fucking plants?” She shrugged. “You're an idiot.”

“Then, what do you do then? Because I've obviously been misinformed.”

Nick paused, letting his powers lower and his eyes turning back to their gold shade. “I am a warlock, everyone else are Shadowhunters. Warlocks are wizards with more intense powers and Shadowhunters are demon hunters.”

Belle was getting so frustrated. Demon hunters? Come on. Those kind of things only existed in movies and video games, which means it didn't happen in the middle of Brooklyn. “I need to leave,” Belle spat, giving Nick the dirtiest look. “I can't take all of you anymore.” She turned to head to get her phone, but Nick grabbed her wrist and pulled her around.

With one huff, he pulled a stick out of his boot and gave it a flick. Suddenly, the window blinds closed, the 2 candles lit, and the sound of the door lock clicked. Belle's heart stopped and she stared at the doorknob before looking back at Nick.

He did that. There was no logical way that he couldn't have.. With that magic stick.. What the hell was going on? Could he actually be a warlock? Her head was spinning.. She had obviously fallen asleep and this was a dream but.. She sure felt awake.

“H-how did you do that?” She whimpered, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She refused to make eye contact. For some reason, she felt embarrassed.

He waved his wand around, undoing all his previous actions. “Duh. Warlock.” He stuck his wand back in his boot. “The wand is just a formality. I could do all of that with my hand or mind, if I so chose.”

She stared at the carpet with a confused face. It was like she'd laid out all the puzzle pieces and knew what the picture was supposed like, but she couldn't put the pieces together, no matter how hard she tried. “What.. What can you do? Can you hurt people?”

He chuckled. Of course, the first question she'd ask. He sat on the bed next to her and looked at the carpet with her. “Technically, I'm one of the most dangerous creatures in the world.” He heard her take a deep breath. “But I'd never do anything to you.”

“And.. Your eyes? They turn red when you get angry?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It's a lot more painful than you think.”

She brought her arm up and rested it on her lap. “So.. All of them are demon hunters?”

“Shadowhunters.” He corrected. “They prefer shadowhunters.”

“What did Clary do to my arm?” She asked, running her fingers over the drawing, which looked a bit faded compared to when she first got it.

“Ahh.” He regretted telling her, since this was a lot to take in at a time, but better she knew what she was up against. “These are called runes. They give shadowhunters different abilities, like the ability to forget, forgive, see different things, run fast.. Things like that.” She let out an 'ooh'. “But the one she gave you are safe for normal people, or mundanes. They're temporary and can't hurt you too badly. If she would have given you a full one, you'd be dead in minutes.”

“But..” She looked towards the door. “What makes Jace so different from the rest of them.”

He let out a silent growl. “Jace is different. Jace has actual angel blood in his veins.”

“Is that a metaphor for something?”

He chuckled. “No, literal angel blood. His mother was given it when he was in the womb. He can jump from extreme heights, run faster, move swiftly.. Asshole.”

She knew she shouldn't believe this. It was absolutely crazy for any of this to be true. However, for some reason, she knew he was telling the truth. “God, I-”

“You need to sleep.” He stood from the bed and gave her a head nod. “Lay down and get some rest. I'll answer questions tomorrow.”

“But Nick!” She looked up, met eyes, and stopped. She never noticed how gold his eyes were. They were gorgeous. In fact, Nick himself was gorgeous. He was stunning, actually. He was lean, yet muscular. She felt her palms sweat. “I'm scared,” she whimpered.

He sighed. “Fine.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to the pillow, throwing the blanket over her. He pushed her to her side and he climbed into the bed, wrapping his arms around her sides as he cuddled her back. “Now, sleep.”

She wanted to puke. Not a bad puke, but a good puke. He smelled so good and felt so warm. Her heart felt like it was failing. Still, she was so exhausted and so scared that it felt nice to have someone. She slowly drooped her eyelids and felt right asleep.

Around 2 A.M, Nick awoke, staring directly at Belle's sleeping face. They were close, closer than they have ever been before. His eyes widened and he slightly smiled. He extended his head and gave her a tiny peck on the lips. “I'll protect you,” he whispered. “With my life, I will.”


End file.
